NEWS ROUNDUP

Campaign Finance:

• Opinion: Pension fund payments can be used by corporations to fund elections: Because nearly all public sector workers are required to contribute to a pension fund—and the money from these funds are invested as equity capital to corporations that use this money for contributions to political groups—the author argues that these funds could violate the First Amendment. (New York Times)
• NRA to consider senators’ DISCLOSE vote on its legislative scorecard: In a letter that ends with the assertion that the group ” will consider votes on this legislation in future candidate evaluations,” the National Rifle Association implies that a vote in favor of DISCLOSE 2012 could result in a loss of its support. (ThinkProgress)
• How Steve Wynn ended up giving millions to Crossroads GPS: The saga of Karl Rove’s courting of billionaire Steve Wynn to contribute millions of dollars to Crossroads GPS, his non-profit group that spends millions on disclosure-less ad buys, highlights the impact of the Citizens United on the election process. (Politico)

Government:

• Van Hollen worried about STOCK Act information security: A prominent advocate of open government, Representative Chris Van Hollen is nevertheless concerned about the security problems that naturally come with online (as opposed to paper) disclosure. (Government Executive)
• California slightly amends its lobbyist reporting requirements: Lobbyists in California no longer need to disclose appetizers or beverages shared with lawmakers if the lobbyist didn’t stay for the meal or event. (Lobby Comply Blog)

Open Data

• Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board updates FOIA fees: The Federal Register published the DNFSB’s updated fees for Freedom of Information Act requests; for example, the cost of researching the answer to a question now costs $82. (Federal Register)
• Challenges with and solutions to open data use and implementation: The author shared the ways he believes the government and the populace should look at open data. One thing for which he advocates, for example, is the implementation of common standards for portals and data sets. (techPresident)

RELEVANT BILLS INTRODUCED

• S.3369: A bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, Super PACs and other entities, and for other purposes. Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate.

REST OF THE WEEK

• None.

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